Tequila’s Sunset? : West Hollywood Residents Complain About Sculpture Sponsored by Liquor Company

As some would tell it, the definition of ugliness stands 30 feet tall at the corner of Santa Monica Boulevard and Doheny Drive in West Hollywood.

The offender--an abstract sculpture of bird-faced caricatures playing saxophones--was commissioned by an importer of Mexican tequila and accepted by the city as public art. But 30 months after its unveiling, criticism of the colorful sculpture has reached a fever pitch, with many residents demanding its removal.

Even the mayor, who had voted to approve the sculpture based on renderings, is now questioning its aesthetic worth.

“It’s such an ugly thing,” Mayor Paul Koretz said. “I think it’s time to take it down.”

Under a pact with the importer, the city agreed to display the work for five years. City officials and the importer are now seeking residents’ input to determine whether the contract should be dissolved.

The battle has touched off a debate over what is acceptable as public art and who should make that call. In this case, some contend the sculpture is more promotion than art, since Heublein Inc., the Connecticut-based importer of Cuervo tequila, sponsored the piece and the brand’s name is featured on it.

Those who defend the work--titled “The Cuervotivity . . . Visions of Art Monument”--say that even if critics don’t appreciate the bold style of its Mexican creator, Javier Vazquez, a bad precedent would be set by pulling it down. Some council members and city staff argue that the city should support a project that received unanimous council approval and required a year of planning.

To gauge residents’ sentiment, Koretz has set up a city phone line. Thus far, 320 of 342 callers have expressed distaste for the sculpture.

Moreover, a petition signed by 60 residents describes the work as “tasteless” and “offensive,” and even predicts that it will lower property values of nearby homes. And the city’s Fine Arts Board, which wasn’t required to approve the work, considered taking out an ad declaring it had nothing to do with the installation.

“The majority of the people think it’s an embarrassment to the city,” said Donald Deluccio, a representative of a 1,500-member neighborhood association that requested the sculpture’s immediate removal in a letter to the council this month.

Deluccio and others not only revile the piece, they criticize the council for not seeking residents’ opinions before approving the work.

“Our biggest concern about it was there should have been some sort of due process before it was installed,” Deluccio said.

There are a few vocal enthusiasts of the sculpture. Mark Binder, whose fiance and grandparents live in West Hollywood, is circulating a petition asking city officials to keep it. Binder said he has visited museums in Mexico City where the work of Vazquez, who goes by the name Jazzamoart, is exhibited and has won many awards.

“Jazzamoart does very strong work. It’s very intense,” Binder said. “Some people will love it and some people will hate it. But one of the big points of art is that it makes us all think and talk about it, and that’s great. Instead of someone talking about a TV show, they are talking about something of cultural value.”

The uproar has representatives of Heublein Inc. piqued; they charge that West Hollywood residents just aren’t sophisticated enough to appreciate the sculpture.

“We think it represents a serious Latin American artwork by a respected artist,” said Steve Goldstein, a company spokesman. “This is not a man who paints on street corners.”

Goldstein said the company spent nearly $400,000 for the commission of the artwork and its installation. The piece, the company’s first foray into public art, was meant to be the centerpiece of a Cuervo promotion campaign celebrating Mexican culture.

In order to make the work more meaningful to residents, Goldstein said city staff suggested it be connected to a social cause. The company chose to contribute funds to AHORA, a now-defunct AIDS social service agency serving Latinos, and added to the sculpture a block of tiles inscribed with the names of people who have died from the disease.

The company is searching for an agency to replace AHORA, Goldstein said.

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Residents have already won one concession from the city. In response to complaints about the sculpture, a formal process was developed for the installation of any public art in the city. Future works must seek the approval of a board whose members will include residents, business representatives and art professionals.

But it appears the public display of Vazquez’s work in West Hollywood may be short-lived. Goldstein said Heublein is hiring an outside firm to conduct a survey of West Hollywood residents about the sculpture. If a majority report a negative reaction, the company will let the city out of its five-year agreement to exhibit the work.

“We will honor their wishes, as this is their community, not ours,” said Goldstein, who added that the sculpture may then be moved to another Southern California city.